Graminae 

Common names:

Description

Tufted perennial, 50-100 cm high. Leaf-blades flat 5-30 cm long and 2-10 cm wide. Inflorescence of 2-12 racemes on an axis 3-20 cm long; racemes 1-9.5 cm in length with a narrowly winged rhachis, this ciliate at margins. Spikelets glabrous, elliptic, 2.8-3.5 mm long, borne singly on the rhachis in two rows.

Habitat

Stream sides, often on water-logged soils.

Altitude range

0-1900 m.

Distribution

Kenya; also from United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Use

Palatable grass, however its productivity is not assessed.

Similar Species

Brachiaria arrecta but that species roots at lower nodes and the rhachis to the raceme is not ciliate.

Edited by: F. Guiso Gallisai
Information taken from: Ibrahim, K. M., Kabuye, C. H. S. 1988. An illustrated manual of Kenya grasses. Rome, FAO. 765 pp.